The trade period has ended for 2018 and the focus of 18 clubs now turns to this month’s draft as 17 clubs look to emulate the achievement of West Coast in 2019. The Eagles claimed their fourth flag – against pre-season odds – building a squad through a variety of trade and draft choices. How did West Coast bring their premiership side together? Here are five crucial trade and draft decisions that shaped the 2018 premiers.
The Chris Judd Trade
One of the most famous trades in modern AFL history brought two players to the Eagles who would play a part in the Eagles’ premiership success in their 11th season with the club. After being bundled out in straights sets in the 2007 finals series, the Eagles were rocked by confirmation from their club captain that he would return home to Victoria.
Captain of the 2006 premiership side, Judd was also a Brownlow medallist, a Norm Smith medallist and multiple best and fairest winner in six seasons with West Coast. The hottest property in the game, Judd commanded a big trade in return and after canvassing several clubs, Judd and West Coast believed that Carlton had the best to offer.
The Eagles were after the West Australian born forward taken two drafts earlier at number 4 and despite Carlton’s resistance (and also initially the player), Josh Kennedy was traded to West Coast in exchange for Judd. Also part of the deal were two of Carlton’s early draft picks, numbers 3 and 20 overall. While Tony Notte delivered little success with pick 20, Chris Masten arrived with the Eagles’ first selection and was an important link-man in 2018. With Kennedy, after years of debate, the Eagles have come out on top with that trade, Kennedy now the greatest goal kicker in the clubs history, and booting three important goals in the 2018 decider.
Daniel McConnell Heads to the Kangaroos
Daniel McConnell had just a brief stint at West Coast, but his departure indirectly led to the Eagles’ selecting their 2018 premiership captain. McConnell had been an early draft pick in the 2003 National Draft, but after two games in two years, McConnell decided he wanted to head back to his native Victoria.
The Kangaroos were keen on the midfielder and stumped up two early draft picks in the 2005 National Draft to gain his services. North Melbourne gave West Coast picks 13 and 29, with the Eagles handing pick 18 back the other way along with McConnell. Having improved their initial position five spots in the draft, the Eagles settled on the strongly built Shannon Hurn from Central Districts. The Eagles would select forward Ben McKinley with pick 29, but he would find his way back to North Melbourne despite a promising 2008 season.
North for their part would trade pick 18 to the Hawks in exchange for Jonothan Hay, but the Eagles would be the big winners out of the trade in selecting their future captain. Hurn is set to play game 250 early in 2019 and will be etched in West Coast history in lifting the 2018 cup.
Dale Thomas defects to Carlton
It has already circulated on social media, but Dale Thomas’ decision to leave Collingwood and join arch rival Carlton indirectly led to Dom Sheed – who would prove to be the match-winner in the Grand Final – finding his way to the Eagles. At the end of 2013, Thomas made the call to leave the Magpies and re-unite with former coach Mick Malthouse who had joined the Blues.
Thomas’ decision to leave Collingwood as a free agent resulted in the Magpies receiving a compensation pick through the middle of the first round – number 11 overall. The Eagles entered the 2013 trade period with pick 6 after a disastrous season had seen them fall to 13th on the ladder and signal the end of John Worsfold’s 12 year tenure at the club.
West Coast were set from the outset on taking Dom Sheed who hailed from Subiaco with pick 6 but were also in discussions with the Lions about securing Elliot Yeo, who after two seasons in Brisbane, had requested a move back home. The Lions wanted nothing less than the Eagles’ 2nd round selection (number 28 overall), but West Coast weren’t as keen as being without a pick in the second round.
Enter a pick swap with the Magpies who were desperate to hold two picks inside the top ten at the draft. West Coast and Collingwood negotiated a trade that would see the Eagles give away picks 6 and 44 in exchange for picks 11, 31 and 49 from the Magpies. Despite dropping five places, the Eagles were confident they would still land Sheed.
Collingwood had picks 6 and 10 and no doubt there would have been a side-agreement that they stay away from Sheed. North Melbourne had pick 8, but were already locked into recruiting father-son option Luke McDonald, leaving just Brisbane at pick 7 and Melbourne at pick 9 to bypass Sheed. The Lions and Demons took James Aish and Christian Salem, respectively, and Sheed was snapped up with pick 11.
The other two picks that West Coast received would prove to be busts, with the Eagles picking up small forward Malcolm Karpany at 31 and midfielder Dylan Main at 49, but a separate and much more convoluted pick swap with Collingwood helped West Coast land Tom Barrass with pick 43.
When Josh Fraser was selected by the Gold Coast Suns as part of their inaugural list at the end of 2010, the Magpies received a third round compensation pick which could be used over any of the following five drafts (2011-2014). The Magpies traded this pick with West Coast for their third round selection in the 2010 Draft, with West Coast sitting on this pick until the 2013 trade period. Having traded out pick 44 as part of the draft swap above, the Eagles got back into the third round by swapping the compensation pick they received from Collingwood to the Suns, in exchange for pick 43, which West Coast used on Barrass.
Two Defenders for a Forward
Andrew McDougall arrived at the Eagles at the end of 2000, as the great white hope in the forward line for the next decade. Peter Sumich had retired in 1997 and Fraser Gehrig had departed for the Saints as part of the trade period, leaving big holes up front. Fast forward to the end of 2006 and the promise that McDougall showed ahead of being selected with the fifth pick of the 2000 draft had not materialised, with both club and player keen on changing things up.
McDougall had played just 38 games in six seasons but found a new suitor in the Western Bulldogs who were keen on taking a punt on the former first rounder. The Eagles and Bulldogs engineered a multiple-round pick swap to get McDougall to the Bulldogs, resulting in West Coast receiving picks 29 and 50 in exchange for picks 34, 66 and McDougall. The Bulldogs would get just five games out of McDougall for their investment, but for the Eagles, the picks would deliver two stalwarts of the club.
Eric Mackenzie would be taken with pick 29, playing 147 games before retiring at the end of 2018, his last few years at the club cruelled by injury. Pick 50 would be used to select Will Schofield, with the veteran defender one of the Eagles’ best in their 2018 premiership. Schofield would play a near-perfect role, stepping into the shoes of Brad Sheppard after being unlucky to be left out earlier in the finals series. Schofield would curtail De Goey’s influence up forward and be the lockdown defender needed in the back half.
Bargain Saints
Two Saints found their way to the Eagles during the 2012 trade period in contrasting manners. Jamie Cripps had spent two years with St Kilda for a modest return, but was keen on making his way back to WA. The Eagles recent draft picks for high half forwards had not come to fruition, with the likes of Ryan Neates, Gerrick Weedon and Andrew Strijk all delisted at the end of the season.
The Saints weren’t rapt on letting Cripps go and were initially hesitant with the offer from West Coast, who had already given away their first round selection (number 18) to Collingwood in a trade for Sharrod Wellingham. With new franchise GWS given bulk early draft picks, the Eagles’ next selection was number 40, which the Saints would eventually accept as part of a trade.
West Coast had received pick 43 from the Bulldogs for Koby Stevens, so both picks were packaged and sent to the Saints, with West Coast then receiving pick 45 in return, along with Cripps. Having given away their first two selections, the Eagles entered the draft in the third round, selecting midfielder Brant Colledge with pick 45 and then small defender Adam Carter with their ladder-allocated draft pick at 59.
The Eagles then had pick 60 to use, which they received as compensation for the departure of Quinten Lynch. Lynch had taken up a two year offer from the Magpies, following ten seasons with the Eagles, which resulted in an extra third round pick for West Coast. At pick 60, the Eagles chose Mark Hutchings, who had previously been on the Saints rookie list in 2011.
Hutchings only lasted one season with St Kilda, without playing a game, before returning to the WAFL, where he finished 2nd in the Sandover Medal. That was enough for West Coast to pick up the midfielder, with Hutchings evolving his game into being a solid run-with player. Hutchings would play vital role in the 2018 decider, clamping the influence of Steele Sidebottom, restring the Brownlow runner-up to just 14 disposals.
And the rest?
1 Liam Ryan. The small forward would be picked up with the Eagles’ third selection in the 2017 draft after Geelong thwarted the Eagles’ initial intention of selecting Tim Kelly with their pick.
2 Mark LeCras. Selected with pick 37 in the 2004 National Draft, a selection the Eagles received from Collingwood in exchange for Chad Morrison.
8 Jack Redden. Traded to the West Coast from Brisbane, with the Lions receiving the Eagles’ first round selection in the 2015 draft, which would be number 17 overall. Redden arrived at the club as an inside mid, but found his role changed with the presence of Matt Priddis and then Sam Mitchell. Following the pair’s retirement, Redden showed his worth, claiming the joint Player of the Finals award with Dom Sheed.
13 Luke Shuey. The Norm Smith medallist would arrive to the club courtesy of a compensation pick. Following a disastrous 2008 season which reaped just four wins, both the Eagles and Demons received an extra pick at the end of the first round. Melbourne selected Sam Blease with pick 17; the Eagles got far greater return in picking Shuey with pick 18.
14 Liam Duggan. The Eagles first selection in the 2014 draft, selected at number 11 overall, allocated to West Coast for finishing ninth in 2014.
18 Daniel Venables. Another first round selection for West Coast, coming at pick 13 in the 2016 National Draft. Venables was considered a surprise selection ahead of local product Sam Powell-Pepper, but repaid the Eagles in 2018 after an injury-riddled first season.
19 Nathan Vardy. A trade more through necessity with first choice ruckmen Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett expected to miss the 2017 season. Vardy came cheaply from the Cats; the Eagles offloaded pick 72 in the deal, a pick they had earlier received from the Hawks as part of the Sam Mitchell trade.
20 Jeremy McGovern. One of the bargain finds in Eagles history, with the defender coming with pick 44 in the 2010 rookie draft. McGovern would take some time to push through to the senior side, with a couple of close calls in between, but is now the premier defender in the competition after three consecutive All-Australian selections.
23 Lewis Jetta. A direct trade with the Sydney Swans for ruckman Callum Sinclair following the 2015 Grand Final defeat. The Eagles identified a lack of pace, and hoped Jetta’s line breaking and ball use would take the club the extra step in 2016. A little slow to get going, Jetta was worth the price in the finals series.
27 Jack Darling. Another compensation pick, with the Eagles receiving an end of first round selection for winning less than five games in 2010. Remarkably, Darling slid all the way to pick 26 despite being touted as a potential top five selection for much of his draft year.
28 Tom Cole. Drafted by the club in the 2015 National Draft, as one of two Eagles’ picks in the second round. The Eagles had given away their first pick for Jack Redden, but received an extra pick in the second round following the surprise decision by Matt Rosa to leave the club. Rosa headed to the Gold Coast for pick 36; the Eagles selected Tom Cole.
29 Scott Lycett. Part of the triumvirate of star players that were selected in the 2010 National Draft, Lycett came to the club with the Eagles’ third pick, number 29 overall. The 2010 Draft would see the Eagles also bring in Andrew Gaff and Jack Darling.
44 Willie Rioli. Used with one of the picks that changed hands between the Eagles and Hawks in the Sam Mitchell deal, Rioli was an astute choice selected with the Eagles’ third round selection – number 52 overall – in the 2016 draft.
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